From The President’s Desk... 

We are past the halfway mark of the Year of World Evangelism.  We are doing our bit in this conference since we are part of the world church.  This venture has prompted us to take a fresh look at what we have been doing through the years and to assess if that has added any value to our mission.  Activities that do not meet this test do not stand a chance of being funded by the conference. Departments and conference personnel are doing their best to demonstrate that their presence promotes the mission of the Conference and the church at large.   Church members are challenged to take a hard look as to why they are in the church.  Mrs White defines the purpose of church membership as follows:   

The church is God’s agency for the salvation of souls.  It was organized for service, and its mission is to carry the gospel to the world. 

The Year of World Evangelism campaign will be over in a few months’ time, but it is our aim that the culture of evangelism should stay with us until Jesus returns.  We are happy that our pastors and many of the churches are catching the vision.  We receive many enquiries from people who want to participate in this historic venture.  They want to know about the available materials and about the best strategies to use.  The following are just a few of the activities and plans that have been reported in connection with the Year of World Evangelism: 

·          Brother Chris Mthethwa has enrolled 108 Bible students at Waterloo, near Verulam. 

·          The community religious survey is reported to be working well for Heidedal and Wentworth churches too. 

·          The KZN chapter of SDASA has a goal of conducting two campaigns.   

·          Pastor Gert Jordaan reports a successful series of in Newcastle.  Thirteen baptisms resulted from the series. 

·          The Pinetown Church, under the guidance of Pastor Gideon Reyneke, is experiencing a boom in Sabbath service attendance at a time when many churches are undergoing a slump, and not surprisingly so;  it is one of the very few churches where vesper services are still conducted, and where there is ongoing training of members in outreach.   Within the church young people are taking their stand for the Lord and getting baptized. 

·          As a bonus, we had fifteen teams of the Global Evangelism initiative conducting campaigns in the Greater Durban district between May and June.  We expect a good harvest of souls. 

·          As a conference we have set ourselves a goal of 1 000 baptisms for this year, but at a meeting of the Greater Durban elders, consensus was reached to work towards reaching at least 30 000 homes with our literature.  Other districts are challenged to do the same. 

The gospel train is moving. And while the gospel comes to us free of charge, we must not be seen to be free riders.  It must be embarrassing (and even criminal) for anyone to be caught by the conductor avoiding to pay the fare. Could it be that neglect of God’s work, being a free rider in the church, is also criminal!  Free riders actually ride on other people’s backs just as tithe defaulters do. They enjoy church privileges at the expense of the faithful. Jeremiah calls down a curse on those who do not apply themselves body and soul to the Lord’s work (Ch 48v10).  We have been called to service: to spread the good news all around - collectively as a church as well as individually.  If you have not started sharing your faith in a more determined way, it is not too late yet, but start soon.  Do not put it off for much longer.  Get on board. Let us all strike while the iron is hot, while the enthusiasm is in the air.  Even though we are not working for earthly rewards and we are not in a numbers game, it will still be nice, at the end of the day, when the reapers bring the harvest home, to know that we played some humble part in it all.   

In every town and city you will find a building that is dear to the local people.  Everybody who was employed in its construction is proud to declare:  “we built it”, whether he was the architect, a bricklayer or simply a wheelbarrow pusher.  The finished product gives everybody satisfaction and a sense of achievement. Jesus summed it up well when He said: The reapers will be paid good wages and will be gathering eternal souls into the granaries of heaven!  What joys await the sower and the reaper, both together!  John 4:36, TLB.